personality trait

First, remember: ‘You never get a second chance to make a first impression’. Many recruiters make up their minds about a candidate within seconds of meeting them. You have the opportunity during the interview to build on that potential positive first impression or to change their mind. Part of this will involve asking intelligent and useful questions. My clients always ask me whether they should ask questions. How many question? Too many might seem to question the role and challenge the person too much specially if it is the first interview. First, try to create and build rapport. Building rapport may be more important than impressing with expertise. The interview is often less about your factual knowledge, more about “what are you like to work with?” This is easier to convey if you are in a discussion (two-way questions) rather than an interrogation (one-way questions). You can ask questions about their questions, provided they are intelligent ones and not too many. How you use your opportunity to ask questions? You need to find out as much as possible about the job and the process, including success criteria, tasks/structure, why the vacancy exists, why (if relevant) the last person left and how long they were in the job. Examples of good questions: Why is there a vacancy? What is the make-up of the team in terms of experience? What is the culture of the team? Who is your manager? And how do you work together? What interesting projects do you have planned for the next 6 months What is the most important thing I could do in the first 90 days to help What do you think makes company x stand out as an employer? What strengths and [...]

Most of us are usually more prepared to answer questions about the job itself but not as much about ourselves. When you reach interview stage, candidates are more or less equivalent in experience and abilities. The big differentiator factor is the individual itself: its behaviour, story, and attitude! And how it all fits together within the company culture. I have been working as a recruiter for over 8 years and I have been asking all type of questions but it seemed that these questions are the ones who can break or make a candidate shine. There are no right or wrong answers but you should BE PREPARED and able to answer all of them truthfully and in a confident and articulate manner. So the one and only advice I give to my clients after hours of preparations and coaching is: BE YOURSELF. For the preparation bit, here is some help: 1- What do you think we have to offer you? I think this is one of the most important questions. The employer wants to hear your story. They are trying to test your fit for the role and understand why you are really interested in joining. They want the real story behind the obvious. They want the back-story. Is this a stepping-stone? Are you here just because you need a job, any job? Why are you picking this role in particular? What does it say about you? To best answer to this, is using the key characteristics of the company/ job as reasons why. Be cautious when citing advancement and great development as a reason – The company usually wants you in the job, the role description states and offering the ability to progress is important, [...]